[CKau]

Thought to throw a philosophical question out there on something that's been bugging me.

What defines a luxury car and is the F30 a luxury car?

Growing up, I'd admire MB cars because they were amongst the first to bring out ABS en masse as standard, then the airbag. I think of the S class coming out with technology such as radar distance cruise control, rain sensing wipers and seeing these technologies trickle down through the rest of the industry years later.

So I thought luxury cars had features as standard that the plebs don't have even as an option.

I used to think that luxury cars should have attributes such as a quiet and comfortable ride superior to other cars (e.g. through the use of expensive setup such as double wishbones). I thought luxury build quality was superior and components last longer. I thought interior materials were more expensive than other car makers.

Given all the build issues I'm seeing with the F30 I think the build quality isn't what I'm expecting (even though I don't own the car yet, I feel bad for all the owners with issues).

I find that Mazda 6's and Commodores now have rear cameras and self parking as standard, where this is still an option on the F30. Mid range to top range japanese & korean cars have seat heating as standard - which is an option on BMW's. Ditto with xenons.

The interior of the F30 doesn't seem to have any more leather than a Passat, Mazda, camry, any korean makes - or any other car for that matter.

Even the ride quality is being criticised, and owners complain about squeaks which go against my notion of a quiet ride.

So why is the F30 a luxury car, or are we just buying the badge? The only thing I feel we're buying are the excellent drive train and weight distribution. That's it.

Thoughts?

I've kept this to the Australian forum rather than open it up because of the pricing we have here. not sure my observations hold true in other car markets.